


the world is brighter than the sun (now that you're here)

by LiveLaughLovex



Series: we'll give you everything we have (we'll teach you everything we know) [2]
Category: The Code (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Doctors, Alternate Universe - Hospital, Babies, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26154253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLaughLovex/pseuds/LiveLaughLovex
Summary: Harper comes home to her family after a long day at the hospital.
Relationships: John "Abe" Abraham/Harper Li
Series: we'll give you everything we have (we'll teach you everything we know) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899265
Kudos: 3





	the world is brighter than the sun (now that you're here)

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from Sleeping at Last's "Light."

Harper drew in a deep breath as she made her way through the front door at the end of what had felt like an endless day, dropping her keys and wallet into the wicker basket on the kitchen counter before walking down the hall and up the stairs, headed in the direction of her six-month-old daughter’s nursery.

She found Abe already there, reading softly to their little girl from the book of fairytales his sister had given them the day she found out they were having a girl, a gentle smile on his face as Ruby stared intently at the page, listening attentively to every word her father uttered.

Abe glanced up as soon as she leaned against the doorjamb, mouthing a greeting and offering her a smile so warm and fond it made the day’s stresses melt away. He returned his attention to the page, finishing up with whatever story he was on before closing the book and setting it aside. “You’re home later than usual.”

It was a question, not an accusation, and the worry the words were tinged with unexpectedly brought tears to Harper’s eyes. “I had to go back into surgery,” she explained quietly, making her way further into the room and extending her arms for their wide-awake daughter, hugging the little girl close to her chest once Abe had handed her over. “Hi, Miss Ruby,” she murmured. “How was your day? Did you have fun at daycare?”

“They said she didn’t hate her exercises as much today,” Abe supplied, pushing himself up from the rocking chair and drawing closer to rest a hand on Harper’s shoulder, both of them gazing silently at their daughter for several seconds. “Why’d you have to go back into surgery?” he asked after a moment.

“My patient from the bus, she got worse,” Harper explained, gently disentangling a strand of her hair from her daughter’s tight grasp. “There was too much pressure, and so we had to… Ruby Sofia Abraham, you’ve got to stop doing that,” she scolded the little girl gently, smiling despite herself as she once again untangled her hair from around the six-month-old’s fingers. “We had to go back in,” she finished a moment later.

“The girl from the bus?” Abe repeated slowly. “She was young, wasn’t she? She was…”

“Seventeen,” Harper replied, clearing her throat as it clogged with tears. “She’s seventeen.”

“Mm.” He squeezed her shoulder gently, wrapping an arm around her waist and carefully pulling her into his embrace so that she rested against his chest. “She going to be okay?”

“It’s a waiting game, now,” Harper sighed, adjusting her grip on Ruby as the little girl shifted in her arms. “But her mother’s – her mother’s not even coming, Abe. I mean, how…” She shook her head, holding her daughter a little tighter. “I get that kids of that age, they do things their parents don’t necessarily approve of, but this is her _kid_ , and she’s lying in a _hospital bed_. How can she not come _running_?”

“I don’t know,” her husband answered honestly. “I really don’t.”

Harper nodded, drawing in a deep breath. “Yeah. Neither do I.”

His arm tightened around her waist briefly. “Do you want to head to bed, get some rest? It’s been a rough day. I can get Miss Ruby, here, settled for the night.”

“No, no,” Harper denied quickly. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to do it.”

“Okay,” her husband agreed easily, squeezing her shoulder gently and then cupping the back of their now-sleeping daughter’s head before exiting the room, leaving his wife and little girl to their own devices.

Harper watched him go, then slowly lowered herself into the rocking chair he’d vacated several minutes earlier, cradling their daughter against her chest. The little girl blinked open brilliant blue eyes –the same blue as her father’s – and beamed up at her mother.

“Hi, little girl,” Harper murmured softly, rocking the chair gently. “I just want you to know, Ruby Sofia, I don’t care what it is you do in your life, or what mistakes you make. If you need me, all you’ve got to do is tell me. I promise you I’ll come running, alright? I promise you that.”

And though she knew Ruby couldn’t verbally respond, and that she probably wasn’t even able to comprehend what her mother was saying, Harper liked to think the way the baby cooed happily before snuggling closer was proof her daughter understood _exactly_ what she meant. 

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone interested, I chose Ruby's middle name to honor Sofia Ionescu, a Romanian physician believed by many to be the first female neurosurgeon in the world. Also, I just really like the sound of Ruby Sofia Abraham, so it works well for me, too!


End file.
